Cassettes which align pharmaceutical products for storage, and a medicine storage apparatus in which a large number of such cassettes are arranged in an inclined position are provided (for example, see patent document No. 1). The cassettes and the apparatus are designed to manually retrieve pharmaceutical products, etc.
A medicine dispensing apparatus, capable of ejecting pharmaceutical products automatically by providing a semicylindrical movable lid at the front end of a cassette and by axially rotating the lid, is also available (see, for example, patent document No. 2). A dispensing and transporting mechanism, which retrieves a pharmaceutical product stored in the apparatus from a pharmaceutical product outlet of a cassette and conveys the product to a predetermined position, is built in the apparatus.
There is also developed a medicine dispensing apparatus provided with a medicine transporting apparatus which horizontally moves the medicine ejected from a cassette, a descent guidance member which causes the medicine to fall and collects the medicine, and a carrier transporting apparatus which transports a carrier to a position for introducing the collected medicine into the carrier (see, for example patent document No. 3).
[Patent Document No. 1]
    JP 2002-011072 (page 1)[Patent Document No. 2]    JP 2004-275550 (page 1)[Patent Document No. 3]    JP 2004-344420 (page 1)[Patent Document No. 4]    JP 2001-198194 (FIG. 5, FIG. 11)[Patent Document No. 5]    JP 2004-148036 (page 1, FIG. 4)[Patent Document No. 6]    JP 2004-187958 (page 1, FIG. 3)